Used to Be
by co1ette
Summary: It's hard enough to go to a new school. But what happens when Sakura attends an all-boys school disguised as her twin brother, Sai?
1. Chapter 1

_Sakura,_

 _I'm sorry for not telling you about this before I left, but it would have been too hard. I needed to get out as soon as I could and I don't know if I could have done it if I saw you. I'm going to the city to find a job and another place to stay. Once I can get myself established, I'll try to get you out as soon as I can._

 _Be respectful to Aunt Rin and she won't bother you. Again, I'm sorry for leaving you like this. You might not hear from me for a while, but I promise I'll stay in touch._

 _It's going to be okay, Sakura._

 _-Sai_

* * *

Blankly, I stared down at the letter that my twin brother had left for me. This couldn't be real, I thought. There was no way he would just abandon me with Rin - our aunt who was our father's sister and the closest family that we had left. Living with her had been my own form of hell.

At first, I was in denial. This had to be some sort of joke, I decided. How would Sai even have the money to go to the city? We had had part-time jobs before our mom died, but when we had to move in with Aunt Rin we had to give them up. I thought about the small amount of money we had hidden in the dresser drawer of the room we shared and immediately went to check on it.

When I got there, it was gone.

"Dammit, Sai." I whispered, now close to tears. How could he do something like this to me? We had always been close - I knew everything about him. At least, I thought I did until now.

It suddenly dawned on me that Sai was exactly the type of person to leave me behind. Of course, it wasn't like he knew he was being selfish. That was just his personality. Sai was one of those people who thought about himself first and others afterwards - usually I was the only exception. I knew that he really thought that he was doing something that would benefit both of us.

That didn't stop the wave of tears from coming, though, once I realized I was stuck in a house with my aunt and her new boyfriend, Hidan, who gave me the creeps. I hated being in the same room with both of them, much less the same house.

Rin was gone that night, meaning I had the house to myself. I went to bed frightened that night of what would become of me once she knew that Sai had run away. When I finally fell asleep, I couldn't help wondering why Sai hadn't just taken me with him.

* * *

There was no sign of my aunt the next day - she was probably over at Hidan's house or something. Good riddance. I had been hoping that the letter left behind by my brother had been just a terrible dream, but it was there on my bedside table when I woke up that morning.

I sighed and called my best friend, Ino, on the phone. The house we were living in still had a landline for some reason, so I could usually sneak downstairs and call her when no one was home. Usually Rin wanted Sai and me to be confined to our rooms.

"Sakura!" Ino greeted me once she realized who had been calling. "It's been forever! How are you doing?" I could hear the worry in her voice. Ever since we had moved away, my calls to my friend had gotten less and less frequent.

"Not so great," I admitted. I was so used to putting up a facade when I was talking to Ino - I didn't want to let her know how I was living now. It wasn't like I was starving or wearing bags for clothes, anyway. "Sai ran away." I gave her the entire story about how I had found his letter.

"Wow," Ino said once I was finished. "What a jerk."

"I know," I answered. "I don't know what to do anymore. My Aunt Rin hasn't gotten home yet and I don't want to have to explain everything to her-"

"Sakura," Ino interrupted. "Calm down. She's not going to be mad at you, right? It was Sai."

"You never know," I sighed. When Rin wasn't ignoring us completely, she could be a bitch. Ino had a theory that she was only watching over my brother and me because of the inheritance left behind by our parents. We weren't technically allowed to have it until we were eighteen, besides an allowance set up for us every month that was promptly taken by Rin - living costs, she said.

Okay, so maybe it was more than a theory.

"Maybe you should run away, too." Ino finally said, after a long pause.

"Where would I go?" I felt the tears of desperation coming back when I thought about how helpless I was at the moment.

"Come stay with me," Ino pleaded.

"It's not that easy," I insisted. "Besides, you're so far away." Ino was basically across the country from me. How would I even get there?

"Okay." Her voice was still calm over the phone, but I could tell she was still upset. "Let me call you back and ask my dad about some options." Ino's father was a lawyer.

"Thanks Ino," I said, even though I felt that there wasn't much of a point.

We got off the phone and I managed to run through some of my daily routine on the weekends. Cleaning the kitchen, taking a shower, getting some homework done, and checking the mail were some of the tasks that I busied myself with. It wasn't until I checked the mail that I had an idea.

* * *

 _Mr. Haruno,_

 _As one of the most prestigious schools in the country it is our pleasure to announce that you have been accepted to be a student at the Konoha Academy. We hope you will find that the students who attend Konoha Academy end up moving on to Ivy League schools and successful careers. Let the Academy be a place where you can let your abilities grow and flourish._

 _If you have any questions, please contact us using the information stated below. Before you arrive on your first day, be sure to send in the forms attached. We look forward to meeting you._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Headmaster Jiraiya_

* * *

I studied the letter, considering what was in front of me. I had known that Sai had applied to go to the same boarding school as our dad, but I hadn't thought too much about it. The idea of Sai leaving me was too unbearable, especially to be stuck in this house without him.

Now, he was already gone.

I called Ino again quickly after the plan formed in my mind. "Ino, I'm about to tell you something completely insane."

"What?" She sounded relieved, probably because I sounded more like myself.

"Well... I got a letter in the mail about Sai. He's been accepted into Konoha Academy."

"You mean that boarding school for boys nearby?" I could hear the confusion in her voice. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think I'm going to go," I admitted, wondering if she was going to think I was out of my mind. "Sai and I look enough alike and he hasn't sent any information about himself in yet besides the application process. They don't have any photo ID of him yet so they won't be able to tell..."

"Sakura," Ino said. "Please tell me you're not going to pretend to be your _brother._ "

"What other choice do I have, Ino?" I said desperately.

She sighed. "I'll help you," she decided. "But this is only temporary, okay? I talked to my dad. He said that what your aunt's doing isn't right and if we can get proof of what she's using your monthly allowance on she can get in big trouble. Maybe you could even come live with me if we can get you out of this. He also said you can look into getting emancipated, but that might take some time..."

I sighed. "Okay, we can try that, but I don't know. Aunt Rin is pretty good at covering everything up. I really just want to go somewhere until I'm eighteen and can officially escape. For now, is it okay if I come stay at your house? I have enough money for bus fare."

"Yeah, of course!" Ino said. "You can stay for as long as you want. But Sakura?"

"What is it?"

"If my dad asks, your aunt knows you're staying at my house. He doesn't want to get you into any more trouble with her."

"Got it." If I was lucky, Aunt Rin wouldn't even notice I had left for a few days. I was pretty good at keeping to myself.

"See you soon!" Ino sounded excited now. "God, I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you."

"I know, right?" We talked for a few more minutes about logistics and Ino was nice enough to look up bus times for me online. We figured out exactly what time I would be leaving for my old town and what time she would need to come pick me up.

"I'll be there!" Ino chirped through the phone. "Be careful!"

"I will, Ino." I reassured her.

We got off the phone after that. I decided that I would need to come up with a good plan - she needed to know that Sai was still in school, did it matter if I went missing? I decided that I would risk it. Who cared if she thought I ran away?

I thought for a moment before leaving Rin a letter. What would Sai say in this situation? He was way more clever than I was usually. Rin mostly left him alone because he was so good at making threats that sounded harmless.

Finally, I figured out what I was going to write:

 _Dear Aunt Rin,_

 _As you can see from the letter below, I have been accepted into the Konoha Academy. Don't worry, I have full scholarship there so it's practically free. I'm going to be staying with a friend from back home before I go to school in the next couple of days. I thought it would be easier this way since now you only have one person in the house to worry about._

 _I'll try not to bother you too much from school, just know that I'm where I need to be. After all, it's where my father went, too._

 _Thank you for your consideration,_

 _Sai_

I studied the letter, admiring the handwriting that looked just close enough to Sai's to pass. I hoped I got the tone of the letter right. Normally Sai was just a tiny bit pretentious, even when talking to Aunt Rin. It had always been something that I had admired about him, honestly. He didn't seem to fear anything.

Deciding that the letter should be fine, I left it in a prominent spot in the kitchen - along with Sai's letter of acceptance as proof. Then, I made sure that I packed Sai's real letter to me in my suitcase along with the few things that I would be bringing with me. Thankfully, Sai hadn't been able to pack everything of his when he left, so I had some guy clothes that I could wear. I made sure to pack that too.

I left the house, feeling strangely liberated. For once in my life, I was doing something for myself. Of course, it was a crazy idea and would probably get me in trouble, but what else did I have to lose? There was no way that I was going to spend the next two years living with my aunt and her creepy boyfriend by myself. It was time to take control over my life, I decided.

I didn't look back on my way to the bus station, which was mercifully only a few blocks away. The only money I had left was going to a one-way bus ticket back home.

The bus ride wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe a little sketchy, but I was too happy to care. I imagined the look on Rin's face when she finally realized that we had left. I hoped that it took her awhile to realize that both of us were gone.

"Oh my god!" Ino practically ambushed me when I met her at the bus station. I found myself in a tight hug as soon as I saw her. "I've missed you so much! You look so thin." She pulled away to study me.

"Let's go," I told her. After the long bus ride, I was ready for a shower and bed.

"So I've been thinking," Ino began. "You look enough like Sai to pull this off. I mean, we'll have to do something about your hair, but besides that I think this could work."

"So you're on board with the plan now?" I asked. After thinking it through, I was beginning to have my doubts.

"Well, it would be better for you to stay at Sai's school than at Rin's house." Ino rolled her eyes. "Even if you're not technically supposed to be there. What's the worst they can do to you, kick you out?"

"You have a point," I replied. Plus, it would be amazing to take classes that advanced. I had heard a lot of good things about Konoha Academy from our father when he was still alive. I had even wanted to go there, until I learned that it was only for boys.

We made more plans on the way to Ino's house. Luckily for us, her parents were going to be out of town (now that Ino was old enough to be home by herself, her mom normally traveled with her dad when he left for business trips) so we wouldn't have to explain ourselves the next day when trying to make me look like a boy.

"Hello, Sakura." Ino's mom greeted me when we walked through the door. "It's so good to see you again." Before I could respond, she gave me a hug.

"Hi Mrs. Yamanaka," I replied.

"Sakura!" Ino's dad, Inoichi, appeared in the living room. "It's nice to see you."

"Thanks," I smiled back. "It's good to see you too." I had always liked Ino's parents. After our parents died, they welcomed Sai and me to stay at their home until we figured out what we were going to do. They had even offered to take us in before Rin stepped in.

"Come on," Ino said. "Let's put your stuff in my room."

I followed my friend upstairs into her large bedroom.

The next day, after her parents were gone, we started on my transformation.


	2. Chapter 2

"Good luck," Ino's voice was almost at a whisper. "If you need me to come get you, just call me. I don't care what my dad says."

"Thanks, Ino." I replied back. "I think I'm gonna be okay. I'll see you soon." I had promised that I would come visit as much as I could. While the Konoha Academy for Boys didn't recommend leaving on the weekends, it was still allowed.

"Keep in touch," she insisted. "Let me know if you hear anything from Rin... or Sai."

"I will," I promised.

Ino drove away then, leaving me to carry the two duffel bags filled with everything I owned (she had offered to inside with me, but I was too worried that it would look suspicious and somehow get back to Rin).

I brushed a lock of hair out of my face. It would take me a while to get used to what we had done to it - my hair was now dyed black and cut exactly like how Sai wore his. Thankfully, my brother didn't keep his hair too short. I wasn't sure if I could get used to that.

Along with my hair, Ino and I had taken some other precautions to make sure that I looked as much like Sai as possible. Besides the hair - which Ino had styled perfectly somehow - we bought items of clothing that I would need for my school uniform, including navy blue pants, dress shoes, and several button-up shirts (I would receive my jacket when I arrived at boarding school). In addition to that, Ino insisted that I use something like an ace bandage to bind my chest. Thankfully, I wasn't very endowed in that department, so I could get away with wearing a tight sports bra.

"Now you just have to act like a guy." Ino had studied me after my makeover. It was weird - I really did look a lot like Sai. "Thankfully, you know your brother better than anyone, so just try to think of what he would do. Maybe a little less arrogant, though. Oh, and make your voice sound lower."

"Thanks for the tip." I smiled wryly. Really, I was happy that Ino was helping me, but I was starting to get nervous. Thoughts of doubt began to creep into my mind, but whenever I thought about returning to Rin and Hidan, I knew that I was making the right decision. At least, I hoped.

Once I had reached the administration building - where I would pick up part of my uniform and receive my dorm arrangements and class schedule - I found a nice-looking secretary named Shizune.

"Hello dear," she greeted me when I walked in. "You must be Sai, I've been expecting you."

"Y-yes." I did my best to sound like my brother. I hoped it was convincing enough. _Get ahold of yourself,_ I thought.

"Don't be nervous." I guess she just thought I was anxious about starting a new school. "It's really a great school. Everyone loves it here."

"Thank you," I replied. "I've been looking forward to it."

"That's the spirit," Shizune encouraged. She handed me a bag, which contained my jacket, along with several papers and a room key. "Here's your class schedule," - she indicated one of the papers - "These letters correspond to which building you'll be taking classes in. It's really simple, once you get used to it. This is your room key and this other paper here is what room you'll be staying in. Do you need any directions?"

"I think I'll be okay," I answered. "Thank you."

"Have a good day!"

It wasn't too hard for me to find the dorm building - a large, four-story building closer to the back of campus. I took a quick look at my room assignment:

 **Name:** Sai Haruno

 **Room:** 213

 **Roommate:** Sasuke Uchiha

I stared at the paper, hoping that my roommate would be okay. I hadn't really given much thought to living with a guy. Since I had been sharing a room with Sai, I figured it couldn't have been that bad. After all, even though Sai wasn't the most masculine, he was still a boy. And boys could be pretty gross sometimes.

On the way to my room, I could see some of the students that I would be going to school with out in the grounds. Konoha Academy was for boys from grade six to twelve, and I wondered if anyone that I saw would be in classes with me. Since it was a Sunday, they had the day off. I wondered what people at Konoha Academy liked to do for fun. I thought back to my dad's old stories of boarding school - it had seemed pretty boring, to be honest.

Once I finally reached my room, I was thankful. The two duffels I was carrying were starting to get heavy. Carefully, I opened the door with the key that Shizune had given to me.

Inside, the room wasn't bad. There were twin beds on both sides of the room, along with dressers and desks. Thankfully, we had a private bathroom. I didn't know if I could share a bathroom with my entire floor.

I walked inside the room and placed my bags on the vacant bed - the other side was occupied already. My roommate, while not currently in the room, seemed to have pretty simple tastes from what I could see. There was a dark blue comforter on his bed, a laptop on the mostly bare desk, and, besides some pictures of what looked to be family, his room was pretty much bare. I wondered if he had any interests.

Realizing that I was just staring at my roommates' side of the room, I started to get busy making my room look a little more like home. Or, at least, as close as home as anything could be. My bed at home had had a light pink comforter, so I opted to take Sai's instead. Thankfully, he hadn't packed it away when he ran away. Once my bed was made, I put my (Sai's) clothes away in the dresser, then placed the one really personal thing I was willing to take out of my bag on my desk - the only picture I had left of my parents.

It wasn't until I was finished fixing up my side of my room that I heard the door open. I watched as two boys walked inside - one with blond hair and bright blue eyes and the other with dark hair and even darker eyes. I knew that if I hadn't been in such a weird situation, I would have been gawking. The second one was probably the most attractive person I had ever seen.

"Er, hi." I greeted both of them. They were staring at me. "I'm your new roommate - one of you, at least." God, I sounded like an idiot.

"Sasuke!" The blond one said loudly. "He's here!"

"I can see that, Naruto." Sasuke replied. He didn't look happy to see me.

"I'm Sai Haruno," I said. "It's... nice to meet you." My roommate was sort of glaring at me - or was that just his face? Also, what was I supposed to do now? Give him a handshake or something?

"You're a junior too, right!?" Naruto asked me, still pretty loud. I wondered if he was always this excited. "I've never met anyone who transferred in like this. Most of our class has been together since we started going here in sixth grade. Right, Sasuke?"

Sasuke only nodded. I was glad that someone was talking to me, at least.

"It's a weird circumstance," I responded. "My father used to go here and they had an open spot so..."

"That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "Most of our parents went here, too!"

I chatted with Naruto a for a little while (Sasuke remained mostly quiet but would interject on occasion). From our conversation, I learned that he was an orphan (like me) who mostly lived with Sasuke over summer break. This year, Sasuke had gotten a room to himself (or so he had thought) and Naruto was rooming with someone named Shikamaru who he promised to introduce to me sometime. Naruto also insisted on taking a look at my class schedule, and he was happy to tell me that I had most of my classes with him and Sasuke.

"Anyway," Naruto continued. He really did talk a lot, but I was honestly just happy that I had met a friendly face and that they believed that I was Sai. "We're really happy that you're here, Sai."

"I don't think he was expecting a welcoming committee," Sasuke said, finally. But it was easy to tell that he wasn't really annoyed with Naruto. I wondered how many people Sasuke actually got along with.

"Hey," Naruto said. "I _am_ the welcoming committee."

Sasuke just shrugged.

"Do you want to go to dinner with us, Sai?" Naruto grinned. "We were going to go about now. Besides, I bet you haven't seen the dining hall yet!"

"Sure." I shrugged, figuring I might as well try to fit in. "I'm pretty hungry." That was a boy-ish thing to say, right? I would have to call Ino and get some tips. Better yet, I wished I could call Sai.

"Come on!" Naruto stood up from where he had been sitting on Sasuke's bed.

The dining hall was pretty similar to a regular cafeteria - not that impressive. The food was good, though, and they had more options than my old school, which was nice.

"It's not very crowded right now," Naruto explained. "The dining hall's open longer on weekends, so you're not going to see everyone that you'll see tomorrow. I thought Shikamaru would be here, but he's probably just looking at clouds again." We were sitting at a table located near the window. The sun was setting, and I could see a few students running around outside with a football.

Meanwhile, Naruto, who had gotten bored of talking about himself, began to ask questions about me.

"So is this what you expected for a boarding school?" He asked me. I had already told him that I had come from public school.

I shrugged. "This is pretty similar, actually." I indicated the dining hall. "I'm going to have to get used to the dorm rooms, though. And I haven't gone to class yet, so I'll let you know."

"Do you miss your old friends?"

I thought about Ino. _Yes,_ I thought. At the time, I felt a little sad. "Not really," I replied, hoping that I sounded convincing. "I just saw them yesterday."

"What about your family?" Naruto persisted. I knew he didn't mean it, I think he was just really enthusiastic about meeting someone new.

"Well..." I paused for a second. "My parents died a couple of years ago. I have a twin... sister named Sakura, but she's living with our aunt right now." I cringed internally a little. I hoped I wouldn't slip up.

"You have a sister? Cool!" Naruto grinned. "Is she pretty? Does she have a boyfriend? She would probably just go for Sasuke anyway..." According to Naruto, girls couldn't keep their eyes off of my new roommate. I could see that.

"Umm, I'd have to ask her." I said. To tell the truth, I hadn't had a boyfriend since we had moved away. Also, it felt weird talking about myself like that. "And she's my sister so... I guess?" That was a Sai response, I thought.

"You're funny!" Naruto laughed. I wondered what I had said.

We continued to talk throughout dinner, Sasuke continued to make interjections every once in a while. I felt a little reassured, knowing that I had at least one friend, no matter how excited he was. It was sweet, in a way, that he was so enthusiastic about meeting me.

We were just about to leave the dining hall, when I saw Shizune approaching us. "Oh, good. Sai, I'm sorry, but you'll have to come with me." She gave Sasuke and Naruto an apologetic look.

"Is everything okay?" I asked the secretary, wondering if I had already been discovered. I tried not to give away how nervous I was.

"Oh, everything's fine," she reassured me. "The headmaster is in and wants a word with you before you start school."

"Okay," I breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank god_ , I thought. At least I hadn't been found out just yet. "I can do that."

"He's really great," Shizune replied. "Jiraiya is new to the school too - this is his first year. I'm sorry I interrupted your dinner, I completely forgot that he would want to see you."

"It's fine," I said. Hopefully this meeting wouldn't last too long.

The headmaster was far from what I had been expecting - which was a stuffy old man. Jiraiya had long white hair, and was wearing a suit, but something looked different. I couldn't figure it out, until I saw his tie lying off to the side of his desk. I wondered if that was normal.

"Sai Haruno!" He said in a booming voice. "It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you, Sir." I looked around nervously. Shizune had already left to return to her desk.

"Have a seat!" He motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk. "So I see that you've got everything sorted out?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"I wanted to make sure that you're being accustomed to Konoha Academy," he continued. "Normally we don't have students just transfer in like this, but since your father went here, we were willing to make an exception. I went here with him myself, actually."

"Really?" I was suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Oh yeah." He laughed. "Kizashi and I were troublemakers, that's for sure. But I won't go into any details now. Actually, I was planning on calling you in tomorrow after your first day of classes, but I wanted to pass along a message from your aunt. She said you didn't have a cell phone or computer, so she wanted to pass along an email." He slid a sheet of paper across his desk to me. "I talked to her on the phone this morning. Rin is an incredible woman. Funny."

Hesitantly, I read the email that was printed out for me:

 _Sai,_

 _I was pleased to find out that you chose to go to the boarding school that your father attended. I hope that you'll find that it will give you a better education that the public school you were attending. There's some money in your account for supplies._

 _Sakura misses you. We all do._

 _Love,_

 _Aunt Rin_

I stared at the letter in disbelief. I thought there would have been some sort of news from Rin about how "Sakura" had ran away, but there was nothing. Was she just pretending that nothing had happened? Was she even looking for me?

"Everything okay?" Jiraiya asked me.

"Oh yeah," I answered. "Just missing my sister." I hoped that was a good enough explanation.

"Understandably so," he replied, "but I hope you'll find that you have a place of your own here at Konoha Academy."

I hoped so too.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello everyone! I sort of changed the headmaster from Sarutobi to Jiraiya... I figured it would have worked better that way. Let me know what you think!


End file.
